I’m sure the answer depends on experience, and the experiences of commenters in a blog I came across suggest that many consumers believe “good broker” is an oxymoron.

Yet some buyers and sellers may praise those brokers who are some combination of responsive, patient, supportive, efficient, expert at marketing, creative, charming, connected, aggressive or a host of other qualities.

Unlike other jurisdictions, rare is the occasion in New York City when a buyer’s representative presents an offer in person to the seller.

Horrors!

When I asked other brokers whether they were aware of such a practice here, their eyebrows shot up and their contorted mouths betrayed their distaste for the notion. All right, I’m being sort of hyperbolic, but in-person offers almost never occur.

A friend who attended the most recent monthly dinner meeting of Lucky Strikers Social Media Club was telling me there about a price negotiation that had her in a fury.

The numbers were something like an asking price of $2.7 million and her buyer’s offer of $2.2 million. This experienced broker said the market value probably doesn’t support as much as $2.3 million. But the listing agent contended otherwise, stubbornly.

Teeth gritted, my friend, was punching a text message into her handheld arguing for her position, at which point I, being who I am, felt the need to interject my opinion that an e-mail or text message was no way to conduct a negotiation.